The Wilds’ Favorite Games!

Although life in the jungle can be busy with daily chores and school, I (Libby) make sure the boys still have plenty of free time and that we have time to spend as a family together. Each of the boys has their own interests, which have changed over the years; however, playing games together is something they often do. When it is rainy on the mountain and they can’t go outside, you might find them breaking out the chessboard. During the break right after lunch, Asher and Mike will often be found playing Mancala. After dinner on the weekends when everything is quiet we might all grab a stack of cards or play a game to pass the time. Here are some of our favorites:

• Risk
• Monopoly
• Uno
• Dutch Blitz
• Mancala
• Settlers of Catan
• Mille Bornes
• Chess
• Backgammon
• Apples to Apples
• and lots of normal deck card games

Playing games is the one time where the “all for one and one for all” code for family is quickly replaced with “every man for himself.” The boys are ruthless and they are out to win. : ) You would think while playing backgammon they might go easy on their mom, the one who feeds and loves them, but that just isn’t the case. It didn’t take too many matches of Settlers of Catan to see that the boys were quick learners, and if Mike or I wanted a chance at winning we had to take the game seriously. It didn’t matter that we were playing with four boys 13 and under!

I (Asher) often play Stratego with Hudson, and for some reason I can never beat him! He has this awesome strategy and every time I come up with a different strategy and say, “This time, Hudson, this time I am going to completely destroy your men!,” he still beats me. Someday though I will get him and be victorious after all these years!

However, it is all done in fun, and to make sure that we all end on a good note, we Wild brothers always shake hands and say “good game” at the end of every game with every player!